John Franklin Carter a.k.a. Jay Franklin a.k.a. Diplomat a.k.a. Unofficial Observer (1897–1967) was an American journalist, columnist, biographer and novelist. He notably wrote the syndicated column, "We the People", under his pen name Jay Franklin. He wrote over 30 books on a variety of subjects, including his detective novels about the character Dennis Tyler. In his column, he was one of the few who predicted Truman's victory in the 1948 presidential election.

Biography

Carter was born in

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...

on April 27, 1897, as one of seven children of The Rev. John Franklin Carter. He attended

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, where he served as chairman of campus humor magazine ''

The Yale Record ''The Yale Record'' is the campus humor magazine of Yale University. Founded in 1872, it became the oldest humor magazine in the world when ''Punch'' folded in 2002."History", The Yale Record, March 10, 2010. http://www.yalerecord.com/about/histo ...

'' He left Yale early to serve as a representative of the Williamstown Institute of Politics in Italy. Afterwards, he became the

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correspondent for the '' London Daily Chronicle'' and the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. In 1928, Carter began working for the State Department as an economic specialist. He then became a correspondent for the magazines ''

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

'' and '' Vanity Fair''. In 1941, Carter was appointed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to conduct investigation into the loyalty of Japanese American communities on the West Coast of the United States. Carter hired Curtis B. Munson to compile the Report on Japanese on the West Coast of the United States. He wrote the syndicated column, "We, The People" from 1936 to 1948 under his pen name "Jay Franklin". It chronicled the

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

and Truman Administrations. In 1948, Carter worked as a speech writer for

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

. Carter died in

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, on November 28, 1967, at the age of 70. His books ''The New Dealers'' (1934) and ''American Messiahs'' (1935) remain valuable sources for historians of the New Deal era.

Works

Detective novels written as "Diplomat" * ''Murder in the Embassy'' (1930) * ''Murder in the State Department'' (1930) * ''Scandal in the Chancery'' (1931) * ''The Corpse on the White House Lawn'' (1932) * ''Death in the Senate'' (1933) * ''Slow Death at Geneva'' (1934) * ''The Brain Trust Murder'' (1935) Partial list of other novels * '' The Rat Race'' (1950) * ''Champagne Charlie'' (1950) Political Narrative written as "Unofficial Observer" * ''The New Dealers'' (1934) * ''American Messiahs'' (1935) Non-fiction *
Remaking America
'. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1942. Also available fro
Hathi Trust

References

* * * *Simkin, John

''

Spartacus Educational Spartacus Educational is a free online encyclopedia with essays and other educational material on a wide variety of historical subjects principally British history from 1700 and the history of the United States. Based in the United Kingdom, Spart ...

''. Retrieved 2018-06-06. * For more on Carter's role in war-time intelligence, see *

External links

John Franklin Carter papers
at the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

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John Franklin Carter correspondence
at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, NY and online via U.S. Archives * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, John Franklin 1897 births 1967 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male biographers American columnists American fantasy writers American male novelists American mystery writers American science fiction writers People from Fall River, Massachusetts Novelists from Massachusetts 20th-century American biographers 20th-century American male writers